Writing Tips

Your writing, at its best.

When the items in a series themselves contain commas, separate the items with semicolons. Incorrect: We visited Erie, Pennsylvania, Buffalo, New York, and Toronto, Ontario. (Confusing. Semicolons needed to make clear distinctions.) Correct: We visited Erie, Pennsylvania; Buffalo, New York; and Toronto, Ontario.

Hyphens within a word can make some words clearer. They are frequently used with prefixes ending with the same vowel as the root begins with to show pronunciation or emphasize meaning. They are also frequently used to distinguish between words. Examples: co-op (instead of coop, also prefix ending with same vowel as root beginning) re-elect

Their is a possessive pronoun. It always describes a noun. Note the spelling of their. It comes from the word they, so the e comes before the i. There is an adverb meaning “that location.” It is sometimes used with the verb to be as an idiom. It is spelled like here which means “this

Do not use where to replace that. This mistake is common with verbs like read or see. Incorrect: Joanna saw where the president was coming to town.(Unless you mean she saw the place he was coming to!) Correct: Joanna saw that the president was coming to town.

When a geographical name or location has two or more parts to it, use a comma after each different type of part. A second comma follows the last item, unless it comes at the end of the sentence. Incorrect: I meant Pittsburg Kansas instead of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. (Commas needed to separate city and state) Incorrect: